Monsters! Let’s make some. First up though: my TikTok is excellent. My For You page is almost entirely indie makers, cool builds, half-finished prototypes, and people very clearly choosing the hard way on purpose. I keep it auto-scrolling on a nearly broken iPad parked next to where our two-month-old hangs out in the home factory. It works as ambient awareness: a low-level signal stream of what people are making & sharing right now. For the moment, it feels like my own personal public-access TV station, tuned to interesting people doing cool things. Yes, yes. TikTok is a propaganda tool. But now it’s our propaganda tool now (USA USA USA!). If you want the official word, read the TikTok USDS Joint Venture site https://usdsjv.tiktok.com/ . If you want the not-Phil hot-takes and the politics behind it, see the New York Times coverage . ByteDance still holds a minority stake and retains control of the algorithm. It is not public how much TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC paid. Totally normal. We may have to wait for an Oracle annual report. Who knows. Same feed, new landlord, rent still due. TikTok now operates as a majority U.S.-owned company after a forced deal that sliced off its American business from ByteDance, handing control to a consortium led by Oracle and other U.S.-aligned investors. The stated goal was to reduce Chinese influence, but the result is the same addictive feed, now operating under U.S. law, U.S. capital, and U.S. political gravity. TikTok remains a propaganda machine, now domesticated and officially ours. The safeguards provided by the Joint Venture also cover CapCut, Lemon8, and a “portfolio of other apps and websites” in the U.S. And yes, they’re hiring. . The “new” privacy policy (January 22, 2026) is mostly the same, but think of it as a jurisdictional swap-o-rama. The data practices are expansive, the surveillance surface is bigger (they own your drafts, keystrokes, biometrics), and the biggest change is who ultimately controls your data and can use it to sell you out, not what is being collected. As Costello would say, you don’t mess with “the chicken.” Yes, we are on Loops beta. Back to monsters, the other kind. Monster City Studios ended up on my For You, and it’s like an open-source view of how themed large-scale builds are made. Props for amusement parks, attractions, events, retail, all commission-based. There is a ton of tips and tricks on using styrofoam, concrete, fiberglass, metals, and wood ( about page on their site ). Here is one of their creations for the Alien Earth launch: “We installed a massive activation at Hollywood & Vine to promote the new show, and yes, that Xenomorph is even more insane up close.” They have an active Instagram if you want to be monetized there, a YouTube , and an X account that is not really active, probably because it does not work for them for what they need. I think the modern 2026 maker business is going to move from platform to platform and focus or switch to whatever delivers the most value. Posting good information is a pure and honest form of advertising that drives commissions and sales. They are probably avoiding ad spend entirely and going direct, with customers reaching out directly. I’m making some cool play areas for our daughter after New York thaws out, and this is exactly what I needed to see and hear. Monster City’s favorite sculpting cement mix is Tru Pak X + 30 mesh sand + Portland cement, which creates a medium for carving and crisp details. The video shows it in action in under a minute. Building sets and theater props is something I did a few lifetimes ago, with all the tools, resources, and sourcing available. This is one of the best time for makers to make things. James, the main dude, answers viewer questions too . “You guys ask us all the time how to hard-coat foam at home without a full polyurea rig, so James breaks down a super easy, affordable method using Ardex Feather Finish from Home Depot. Perfect for smaller builds, props, and DIY projects. Save it, try it, and let us know how it turns out.” $25 from Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-549-7-lbs-Feather-Finish-Patch-and-Skimcoat-12163/100551687 What to know about gluing foam? Here’s what to use and the technique. Everhold, also called Stay Put, available at NAC or Revchem in the LA area and online of course. A lot of this knowledge comes straight from set building, pulled out of the studio and made approachable for hobbyists. Looking for a good epoxy to glue stuff together? Big Dog BD310, a small-purpose adhesive that is perfect for candy pieces, props, and panels. They describe it as super-strong tacky hot glue, and use it instead of Plexus. From 3D prints to foam, they use it everywhere. Want giant foam blocks? They get them from https://derofoam.com/ . There are other suppliers in the USA once you know what to look for, but this is not just foam for carving props. DeRouchey specializes in creative uses . What does it take to stand out at the U.S. Open? Giant balls . They made them and show how they did it. I learned some new stuff. So yes, TikTok is a propaganda tool, now wrapped in stars and stripes, optimized for influence, surveillance, and rent extraction. Fine. Makers, hackers, artists, and engineers have always known how to work inside hostile systems without becoming them. You take the signal, ignore the noise, and build something real with your hands before the platform shifts again. That’s why running into Monster City Studios was a good jolt to some dusty parts of my rewired brain. Monster City reminded me that there is still craft, institutional knowledge, and honest industrial creativity hiding in plain sight on these feeds. Big monsters, real materials, shared techniques, zero fluff unless it’s part of a build. This is not an influencer doing crappy promos. I have no relationship with Monster City at all. Maybe they’ll see this and add Adafruit electronics and more to their builds, maybe they do already. I saw their work on TikTok for the first time less than twelve hours ago. Is the algorithm pushing things my way? Yes. Maybe. If they move to another platform, and they have and will, I’ll just follow them there, or make a tool to convert it to RSS, get around whatever – you’re able to do this too Mr. reply-guy, try it before you comment, ok? Monsters endure, platforms decay. Be a monster, make a monster, share your monster builds. This is monster advice.